Ground covers that pollinators love

Layering wildlife-friendly plants adds ecological value, seasonal beauty and charm to any space, large or small.

Although pollinator populations are declining worldwide due to habitat loss, climate change, pesticides, and disease, gardeners can slow this decline by cultivating and maintaining safe environments where winged garden visitors can find sustenance and shelter. A well-chosen mix of trees, shrubs, perennials and vines to create diverse habitats will attract and support a wide range of bird, mammal and insect species. Integrating a strategic sequence Ground covers in this mix are a great way to maximize the wildlife benefits your garden provides. Grasslands are green deserts for wildlife, and areas mulched with bark, pine needles or gravel provide little habitat and no food for beneficial insects and other organisms. In Wild, bare soil is rare; It is always covered with vegetation.

 Then why do we leave so much exposed soil in our garden?

Most gardens offer many opportunities for layering ground covers Perennials, under and between shrubs and trees, add beauty and multi-season interest. Look for nooks and crannies in paths, curbs, walls and stairs where pockets of bare soil can be filled with ground cover. Trailing along the edges of hardscaping and container plantings, trailers add fun, whimsy and a sense of completeness to your designs. Add the right ground covers and the pollinators will thank you.

Choose the best ground covers for your garden

With thousands of ground covers to choose from, which one is best for your pollinators? A useful strategy is to choose ground covers that provide a succession of blooms from early spring through fall. While some pollinators are active during the growing season, others may only live for a few weeks. Including long-blooming varieties from the time the snow melts in the spring until your garden freezes again ensures an abundance of nectar and pollen. Following the winter. It is best to choose plants that have flowers of various sizes, shapes and colors. Each pollinator species seeks out specific flower sizes and shapes. For example, hummingbirds appreciate large, tubular flowers, while butterflies need small tubular flowers and a place to rest while feeding. Native bees of varying sizes require many types of flowers to feed on. The greater the diversity of flower shapes, sizes and colors, the more pollinators you will attract.

Spring flowers bear growing pollinators

1. Fragaria virginiana

Pollinator: Attracts a variety of bees and hoverflies;

Nectar and larval host for dozens of butterfly and moth species This hardy, vigorous, easy-to-grow landscape is also a powerhouse for pollinators. The white, five-petaled flowers provide nectar and pollen from spring to early summer, and the small, tasty fruits delight chipmunks, squirrels, birds and humans alike from early to mid-summer. Use it under and around tall plants, as a lawn substitute or as a slope stabilizer. In good conditions it can spread almost indefinitely. While the plants grow quickly and spread, it may take time for the rosettes to provide a closed cover. Virginia strawberry tolerates occasional foot traffic and deer- and Rabbit-resistant. Plants appreciate evenly moist soil, but will tolerate short periods of drought

2. Saponaria ozymoides

Pollinator Power: Attracts bees, butterflies and hummingbirds Here's a hardy, ancient perennial that forms small carpets of vigorous, semi-evergreen foliage. In late spring and summer, the densely branched plants are borne with profuse clusters of small, fragrant flowers that range from bright pink to white, depending on the cultivar. Plant it on average in poor soil with good winter drainage; You will find that it is very drought tolerant. It is ideal for small to medium sized areas in rock gardens, between stairs, paths, slopes and walls. Rock soapwort is deer resistant and tolerates occasional foot traffic.

3. Packera obovata

Pollinator: Attracts many species of native bees, hoverflies and beetles; Roundleaf groundsel, the larval host for the northern metalmark butterfly, welcomes spring with cheerful yellow flowers that seem to float above mats of basal leaves. It adapts to a variety of sun and soil conditions, making it useful for repeat plantings that visually connect different areas of the garden. Its flexibility and rapid growth rate make it an ideal candidate where a hardy, easy-to-grow, weed-suppressing landscape is needed. It spreads by both stolons and rhizomes to form dense mats of rounded, semi-evergreen leaves 4 to 6 inches tall. Flat-topped clusters of golden yellow, daisy-like flowers rise on nearly leafless stems 10 to 20 inches tall. Plant roundleaf mulch under trees and large shrubs, near water bodies, along paths, borders, woodlands and slopes to control erosion. It is deer resistant.

4. Lonicera sempervirens 'Honey Coral'

Pollinator: Attracts hummingbirds, butterflies and bees; A larval host for many moth and butterfly species, trumpet honeysuckle is a favorite vine for its bright red but sometimes yellow flowers, which bloom non-stop in mid to late spring and throughout the summer. 'Honey Coral' is a valuable smaller form of the species. Although this vigorous, twining vine can grow 10 to 15 feet tall or more, it works well as a large, buzzing ground cover in the absence of vertical structures. Use it on slopes and banks or to cover open areas, uneven ground and unsightly terrain features such as rocks or stumps. Its tubular flowers have attracted many people Pollinators and its red berries are attractive to birds in autumn. 'Darling Coral is drought tolerant and deer and rabbit resistant.

5. Ericone and Ambellatum 'Poncha Bass Red'

Pollinator: Attracts native bees, hoverflies and hummingbirds; Larval host for some butterfly and moth species 'Poncha Bass Red' Sulfur Buckwheat is related to a hardy dryland persicaria that offers a lot for water-wise and pollinator-friendly plantings. This long-lasting subshrub is one of the best of the lot

Buckwheat species for the dry, sunny garden. It produces mats or mounds of evergreen, gray-green to silver leaves with glossy umbels of bright, sulfur yellow flowers from late spring to early summer (above). As seed heads form in late summer, they take on fiery tones of orange and red (below). Buckwheats are associated with many butterfly species have evolved into russets, for which they are important nectar sources and often desirable larval hosts; Some larvae can only feed on one species. 'Poncha Bass Red' also attracts many pollinators, and the seeds are prized by birds. This deer and rabbit-resistant plant is useful for non-irrigated areas, heathstrips, dry banks and rock gardens.

6. Penstemon linarioides subsp. coloradoensis 'P014S'

Pollinator Power: Attracts native bees, wasps, butterflies and moths This species is a very beautiful selection from the largest genus of flowering plants native to North America. From late spring to early summer, upright 12-inch spikes of tubular, lavender-blue to pale-blue flowers spread over its low, silvery foliage. Silverton Plumate Penstemon is well suited to dry, sunny conditions and can form carpets 24 to 36 inches wide if provided with adequate moisture and good drainage in cultivation. This deer-resistant beauty thrives in rock gardens and seriscapes, dry slopes and borders, along driveways and path edges.

7. Trifolium 'Atropurpurium'

Pollinator Power: Attracts Bees and Butterflies 'Atropurpurium' white clover was selected from a wide variety of turfgrass weeds known for their nitrogen-fixing ability and globe-shaped flower heads. This less vigorous cultivar is more compact and decorative than the straight species, with burgundy leaflets forming spreading mats of green. Its abundant white flowers emerge in late spring and persist throughout summer, turning pink with age. It grows best in moist, well-drained soil, but tolerates dry, sterile soil. Try it between paving stones, along paths and border edges, and as a lawn alternative.

8. Vaccination vitis-idaea

Pollinator Power: Attracts native bees, hoverflies and moths Native to this hardy, ecologically compatible shrub in Newfoundland and parts of northern Europe, lingonberries are traditionally used in jams, jellies and pies. Low-growing plants form dense, spreading colonies, elegantly clothed in small, glossy, green foliage that is red when young. Clusters of waxy, bell-shaped, white to pink flowers provide food for pollinators from late spring to early summer, and the fruits attract birds from late summer to fall. The lingonberry is deer resistant and grows best in climates with cool summers.

9. Geranium sanguinum

Pollinating Power: Attracts bees and butterflies This is one of the best garden plants to use as a landscape and is very attractive when planted in masses. Its trailing, lightly hairy, deeply serrated leaves form mounds of red in fall. Large numbers of white, pink, or magenta flowers, often with dark veins, cover the plant from late spring to early fall. Plant it along paths, at the front of borders or in rock gardens to attract bees and butterflies during its long flowering season. Bloody geranium is easy to grow and adapts easily to a wide variety of soil types with adequate drainage. It is deer and rabbit-resistant and Very tolerant of heat and humidity.